SUNY Fredonia students start anti-bullying program

March 16, 2013

A team of students from SUNY Fredonia's chapter of Enactus has begun an anti-bullying program at Fredonia Elementary School. The team partnered with Judith Pzybyla, an elementary school counselor, to work with a class of third-grade students for four weeks to help the children understand more about bullying and learn positive reaction strategies.

Enactus is a community of student, academic and business leaders committed to using the power of entrepreneurial action to transform lives and shape a better, more sustainable world. The Enactus group at Fredonia is divided into several teams, dedicated to different projects in the Fredonia and Dunkirk community. The "Life Is Fragile" team consists of Ashley Post, Julie Kalita, Danielle Chamberlain, and Diana Derr, who have been working to raise awareness of bullying problems in elementary schools. Using the Pacer Institute model, the team has developed a program to teach the students how to positively react to a bullying situation and reduce the amount of bullying that takes place in the school setting.

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Submitted PhotoSUNY?Fredonia students worked with Fredonia Elementary School third grade students on an anti-bullying program recently.

"Bullying is an ongoing social epidemic," said project leader Ashley Post. "A lot of kids are affected by it and we want to help give them the confidence to speak up. Ultimately our goal is to make the classroom a place where everyone is treated with kindness and respect."

For updates on the "Life is Fragile" team and the other projects Enactus is involved with, follow @ENACTUSFredonia on Twitter or come to the Enactus Expo on Wednesday, March 20 in the Williams Center.